"The urgency to participate in political life by offering practical solutions to the problems that arise at the moment of decision-making has led philosophers to demand from philosophy something it cannot provide: normative justifications for human decisions," the speaker stated. "In cases where decisions are reached by consensus or approved by majorities, this creates, at most, a de facto agreement that is philosophically grounded. Consensus cannot be a source of validity. At best, it is a source of ‘factic validity,’ he added.
“But philosophy could offer a criterion for determining the limits of respect for cultural diversity. To this end, it is necessary to distinguish between types of values.”
Dr. Balaban holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Tel Aviv University. He is Deputy Editor of the international philosophy journal “Daimon.” He is a member of the International Association for the Study of Controversies. He served as Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Haifa. He is the author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed academic journals and of books such as “Interpreting Conflict: The Israeli-Palestinian Negotiation at Camp David II and Beyond” (New York: Peter Lang Publisher, 2005).